Combination coin holder and counter



Jan. 15, 1963 LQW ETAL 3,073,432

COMBINATION COIN HOLDER AND COUNTER Filed March 27, 1961 I 9 I 4-K FIG. 3

lNVENTORS VAIKEW-LOW BYJOSEPHINEESPRINGER wfa/mmu, fi/ n/m ,MM 1 (2 4,

ATTORNEYS 3,fi73,432 Patented Jan. 15, 1963 F ie 3,073,432 COMBINATIGN COIN HOLDER AND CGUNTER Vaike W. Low, 64 E. 86th St., New York 28, N.Y., and Josephine E. Springer, 245 Ave. C, New York, N.Y. Filed Mar. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 98,621 2 Claims. (Cl. 206.82)

This invention relates to coin holders used to facilitate handling, transporting and storing coins and more particularly relates to coin wrappers constructed of thin, frangible and disposable sheet material.

Heretofore, frangible and disposable coin holders have consisted primarily of paper wrappers. There are two main types of paper coin wrappers. One type consists of a fiat, generally rectangular piece of paper which is wrapped around the stack or column of coins and is held in position by friction and by strength of the creased and folded paper. If not properly handled and stored, this type of coin holder readily unwraps, releases and spills the enclosed coins. Coin wrappers usually have printed or marked on them the number and denomination of coin they are designed to hold. The wrappers indicate correctly the number of coins contained when they have been filled according to design, but the wrappers themselves are not able to count the number of coins placed in them nor indicate whether they have been filled with a number different from the designed number. Coins must be counted by other means before stacking and wrapping.

Another type of paper coin Wrapper is preformed into a tube and held in that position with an adhesive. The desired number of the coins is counted, inserted, and the ends of the tube are then folded over and pressed against the ends of the coin stack. The strength of the closure of this wrapper also depends on creases in folded paper. This tubular type of coin wrapper is also marked with the number and denomination of coin it is designed to hold; and it, too, is unable to perform any counting function.

The present invention is a combination coin holder and coin counter. It performs the function of the prior art paper Wrappers; and, in addition, it functions as a counter in that it will receive and hold not more than a designed number of coins. A coin holder-counter of the present invention is preferably constructed of a tubular body of thin plastic sheet material with resiliently distendable retaining shoulders formed on or attached to the interior circumference of the plastic tube at or near the ends of the tube.

The length of the tube and the spacing between the top and bottom retaining elements is determined by the height of the stack of coins desired to be counted and held. The diameter of the tube will depend on the coin diameter. The tube may be extruded, drawn or formed from flat sheet material with a crimped, heat-sealed, rolled or folded seam. The tubular body material may be polyethylene or any other plastic with suitable characteristics of extensibility and resilience. The plastic material of the tubular body should be sui'ficiently extensible to permit the entrance of coins past the upper retainer, preferably formed as a retaining shoulder ring and not to permit insertion of coins in addition to the designed number. The tubular body sheet material must be thick enough to withstand the forces exerted on the holdercounter during filling, the static forces between the retaining elements and the coin stack, and the external forces normally exerted during handling. The body material, however, must also be thin enough that the coin holder is sufficiently frangible so that it can be easily broken or torn open for ready access to the contained coins.

The retaining shoulder elements can be made of any suitable material. If formed as retaining shoulder rings,

2 they should have an outside diameter approximately equal to that of the diameter of the tubular body. The width of a ring is its dimension parallel to the axis of tubular body. The rings should have sufficient widths to facilitate securing the rings and tubular body using suitable attaching means such as adhesives or crimping. The rings should have inside diameters that both permit easy insertion of coins and prevent inserted coins from passing back out of the tubular holder-counter. Thus, retm'ning shoulder rings must permit only one-Way passage of the coins. Rings may be fabricated of any resilient material including, of course, the plastic material of the body. When the body material is used, it has been found that four layers provide rings with a suitable inside diameter.

Coins are inserted through the retaining shoulder ring in a plane other than perpendicular to the axis of the tubular body. Coins so inserted exert a wedge action on the ring to pass it and are then turned and positioned in planes perpendicular to the axis of the tubular body. The coins as finally positioned are held firmly in the holdercounter and cannot pass back through the retaining shoulder rings. Thus, the retaining shoulder rings are oneway rings in that they permit angular passage and prevent nonangular passage of the coins. In the drawings, FIG. 1 is an elevation of a preferred form of coin holder-counter according to the invention including a portion in phantom. FIG. 2 is a top view of the coin holder-counter. FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the upper end of the coin holder-counter through line 33.

In FIG. 1 tubular body 1 has attached at each end retaining shoulder rings 2, and 3. Contained and held in the tubular body 1 are fifty coins 4 including top coin 9. Stacked coins 4 are held in compression between upper retaining shoulder ring 2 and lower retaining shoulder ring 3.

In FIG. 2, circle 5 represents the circumference of the tubular body. Circle 6 represents the outside diameter of retaining shoulder ring 2, and circle 7 represents the inside diameter of such ring. Area 8 is a face of top coin 9.

In FIG. 3 tubular body has thickness 2. Upper retaining shoulder ring 2 is constructed of body sheet material and is formed by folded U-shaped strip 10 and folded U-shaped strip 11 contained within strip 10. Upper retaining shoulder ring 2 has thickness 4!.

The holder-counter is filled by angularly inserting coins 4 through upper retaining shoulder 2. The holdercounter is preferably symmetrically constructed and may be filled from either end; however, for simplification, coins are described as inserted through the upper retaining shoulder ring. Coins 4 are then turned and positioned as shown in FIG. 1. This procedure is continued until the designed number less one has been inserted and so positioned. The last coin inserted is top coin 9. Angular insertion of top coin 9 through upper retaining shoulder ring 2 is accomplished by exerting a downward force on the coin stack. This force causes the tubular body I and ring 2. to stretch and extend a sufficient distance to permit the angular insertion of top coin 9. After top coin 9 has been inserted and it has been turned to its final position as shown in FIG. 1, force on the stack is released, permitting resilient tubular body 1 to return to its normal unextended length and upper ring 2 to return to its normal diameter, and upper and lower retaining shoulder rings 2 and 3 then exert compression forces which firmly hold the coin stack.

The tubular body 1 is not extensible enough to permit the insertion of coins in addition to top coin 9 and the holder-counters refusal to accept additional coins indicates that the holder-counter has received the designated number of coins. Thus, unlike the prior art paper coin 3 wrappers, the combination coin holder and counter of the present invention functions as a coin counter as well as a coin holder.

The word coin as used in the foregoing description is intended to include all coins, tokens, washers, nuts, and like objects. Although in the preferred form as shown the device is symmetrical, and the rings and side walls may be of sheet material, for example, polyethylene, capable of being packed and shipped flat, it will be readily apparent that the devices could be supplied setup, with solid, non-extensible disc or other shape bottom-retaining elements. Also the top, extensible retaining element need not be in the form of a continuous ring but could be an annular arrangement of discrete shoulder elements.

We claim:

1. A combination coin holder and counter comprising a flexible and resiliently longitudinally extensible tubular body, a resiliently extensible annularly arranged retaining shoulder assembly having a continuous circumference and secured inside and adjacent one end of said body, a retainer adjacent the other end of said body and positioned a predetermined distance axially of said body from said assembly cooperating with said body and said assembly to hold not more than a desired number of inserted coins, said assembly having an effective inside diameter permitting passage of a coin only when positioned in a plane not perpendicular to the axis of said body, said body formed in a tubular shape, the end portion of said body which is secured to the assembly having a continuous circumference, said body and said assembly being sufficiently extensible to permit said passage and retention of said desired number and not sufiiciently extensible to permit insertion of coins in addition to said desired number.

2. A counter and holder according to claim 1 in which the body is formed of a thin frangible sheet material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,627,791 Macy May 10, 1927 2,268,245 Davis Dec. 30, 1941 2,480,368 Jackson Aug. 30, 1949 2,507,626 Ekstrand May 16, 1950 2,808,925 ORielly Oct. 8. 1957 

1. A COMBINATION COIN HOLDER AND COUNTER COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE AND RESILIENTLY LONGITUDINALLY EXTENSIBLE TUBULAR BODY, A RESILIENTLY EXTENSIBLE ANNULARLY ARRANGED RETAINING SHOULDER ASSEMBLY HAVING A CONTINUOUS CIRCUMFERENCE AND SECURED INSIDE AND ADJACENT ONE END OF SAID BODY, A RETAINER ADJACENT THE OTHER END OF SAID BODY AND POSITIONED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE AXIALLY OF SAID BODY FROM SAID ASSEMBLY COOPERATING WITH SAID BODY AND SAID ASSEMBLY TO HOLD NOT MORE THAN A DESIRED NUMBER OF INSERTED COINS, SAID ASSEMBLY HAVING AN EFFECTIVE INSIDE DIAMETER PERMITTING PASSAGE OF A COIN ONLY WHEN POSITIONED IN A PLANE NOT PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF SAID BODY, SAID BODY FORMED IN A TUBULAR SHAPE, THE END PORTION OF SAID BODY WHICH IS SECURED TO THE ASSEMBLY HAVING A CONTINUOUS CIRCUMFERENCE, SAID BODY AND SAID ASSEMBLY BEING SUFFICIENTLY EXTENSIBLE TO PERMIT SAID PASSAGE AND RETENTION OF SAID DESIRED NUMBER AND NOT SUFFICIENTLY EXTENSIBLE TO PERMIT INSERTION OF COINS IN ADDITION TO SAID DESIRED NUMBER. 